Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of SPH and the Foundation, unveiled the Arts Fund logo before a group of 50 invited guests from both the arts and charity sectors, including Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman of National Arts Council and Ms Jennie Chua, Chairman of the Community Chest.

The objective of the Fund is to give the underprivileged the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the arts. At the same time, the Fund will also help local arts groups to produce quality productions and reach out to more audiences.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Tan said the Arts Fund effectively combined two key areas of SPH and SPH Foundation's corporate social responsibility efforts: the arts, and charity.

He said:"Our sponsorship can ease the financial burden of our arts groups, so that they can concentrate on honing their craft. And by bringing new audiences to them, we can help expand their reach in the community."

He added:"We want to provide more opportunities for our charities and their beneficiaries to enjoy and appreciate our arts and culture. A good arts performance is meant for all. It is not elitist or exclusive to certain segments of the population only."

The SPH Foundation Arts Fund has set aside $100,000 to fund at least four arts groups for a start. The first arts production to benefit from the Fund is Toy Factory Productions' 881 The Musical. Other arts groups which will be supported by the Fund this year include i Theatre, The Theatre Practice and the Singapore Repertory Theatre.

Also present at the event today were 103 elderly members from AWWA Community Home, Lions Befrienders and SWAMI Home Help Service. They were the first beneficiaries to be treated to an arts performance with the launch of the Fund.

Ms Jennie Chua, Chairman of Community Chest said: “We are grateful to SPH Foundation for giving our beneficiaries the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the arts under the SPH Foundation Arts Fund. I am sure the first production supported by the Fund - ‘881 The Musical’ will strike a chord with the elderly beneficiaries under our care, and bring them much joy and laughter.”

Set up in 2003, the SPH Foundation has been a strong supporter of both the arts and charity sectors. Apart from sponsoring arts productions, it has also groomed literary talents in Singapore through its sponsorship of the Singapore Writers Festival and the SPH-NAC Golden Point Award. Together with SPH, it has contributed to charities through its annual charity giving. In addition, SPH Foundation also supports education, wildlife conservation and sports.

The Singapore Press Holdings Foundation, a registered charity and an Institution of Public Character, was first set up as the Press Foundation of Singapore in January 2003 to help build a lifelong learning community that embraces language enrichment, creativity, diversity, healthy living and sports. The seed contribution of $20 million to the Foundation came from media group Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. It was renamed Singapore Press Holdings Foundation in May 2005.